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Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: DowntownWhat more can you ask for? Friendly, (at least to me) bartenders, laid back vibe complete with old school Christmas lights (all year around), standard bar food menu (everything frozen you can get from Costco), and heavy cheap pours of liquor.
Great of a drink pre/port Moore outing and your kind of in-between the typical scary downtown dive bar and those of more a refined nature on the outskirts of Belltown.
People thought this was:
$4 for a Blueberry Stoli and Sprite in a pint glass with at least 20 shots per serving?? Thank you Nite Lite! $2.75 Well Drinks with at least 20 shots in them? Gracias! Really friendly bartender? Merci!
Tacky (but very clean) atmosphere... ummm.... Grazie?
Accepting Cash Only? Ummm..... yeah, not so much, but vinaka
for having an ATM.
Obrigado for an awesome time Nite Lite!
People thought this was:
Nitelite is a great spot! Their happy hour is unbeatable and the drinks pack a punch. I was disappointed that they're cash only but they have an ATM inside so you can get cash if you need to. (Darn those convenience fees though!)
I really liked that the bar is separated into two sections. If you enter and go to the right there's a bar with seats, tables, and even a fireplace and sofa. It's a cozy spot for a date or to have a nice conversation. The room to the left of the entry has pool tables and dart boards. The bartenders were nice, they had the mariners game on the TV and the people hanging out were pretty cool. It was a good time and I can certainly see myself back here again soon.
People thought this was:
I love the Nite Lite. Best dive bar in town. The fact that it is even downtown is awesome. Some movie got filmed there don't know what. Best Jukebox ever.
And the santas go there. One year on my 23 b-day went there, december 11th, anyways, we are all just drinking celebrating, next thing you know, 50+ santas and elves walk in. All bondaged up and ready to spank you. Turns out it was all of the store santa and elves, kind of an after work bar hop. It was great. Managed to catch them a few other times at the Nite Lite.
People thought this was:
Retro dive bar. I've never eaten there, just drinks late at night.
The drinks are the cheapest I've seen downtown ($2.75 for a rum & coke), moderately strong. The long islands are really strong, but they won't serve them after 1. I dig the decor, and the music is not too loud, so you can actually hold a conversation.
But, the service is lousy. I've only been there once, but the bartenders didn't give a #@%! about their customers. I guess they don't understand the tipping concept.
CHEAP. STRONG. DRINKS.
Ohh yes. And darts, a jukebox with some great old school favorites, vintage decor, and friendly bartenders. What more could a girl ask for?
That's right, food. Yummy greasy bar food. I'm sold!
Some things I don't like:
Pool, darts, vinyl seats, or sad American excuses for beer.
Some other things I don't like:
Being called some variation of little lady, honey, darlin'.
Having a much older, larger man offer to buy me a drink the second I walk up to the bar.
Having a much older, larger man offer to buy me a drink the second I walk up to the bar while my boyfriend is standing right behind me.
Having the same much older, larger man then tell me to be really, really careful out there.
Thanks. It's not "out there" I'm worried about....
People thought this was:
A fun spot to stop during a drunken tour of downtown.
We came here after a fun time at Shorty's and weren't sure where to finish off the evening. Nite Lite was perfect. Plenty of areas to sit. I do love the scary closed in room in the back, it's like voyeur's paradise!
The dart board was calling our names. And with the set up, you have to avoid the ladies coming and going from the restroom. Which actually does make the game more fun.
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Bam! Double bulls eye. I win three out of four darts games! Though the first game was a pretty easy win for me, the competition heated up through the next three, and the last win was difficult: by only a few points, and a single strike.
The dart board, on the other hand, was not difficult. The Nite Lite has made some improvements.
The decor seemed a bit cleaner, a bit newer. Some of the furniture got moved around, and upgraded, and it made the place feel just clean-er enough that I wasn't afraid to sit down.
The bartender was pouring generously. And the cost of drinks was rock bottom ($3.50 for Tanqueray and tonic on a Sunday night). The four of us played four games of darts, listened to about 12 songs on the jukebox, and had 3+ rounds for $60. Pretty impressive!
It still has its classic dive feel, thank god, but the generous pours and the refurbished dart board really made this a stellar spot to hang out for a few hours.
People thought this was:
Nite Lite is one of those spots I would never have stepped into if it weren't for fellow Yelpers… Read more »
Goddamn this place.
Sausage bar.
And not good sausage either, but old, dirty, sweaty, oily sausage...
It's only saving grace is Marsha, the bartender. She's a classic.
I hope to never go back..
People thought this was:
This is a great place to start or end your night. Cheap, strong drinks and a friendly staff.
We played a few games of pool before a concert at the showbox last weekend.
It's like downtown's version of the Ballard Smoke Shop. Kind of.
They've got 'the heavy, cheap pours by the bartendress from back in the day' thing down packed. And sure, the pitchers and pints are dirt cheap, but I still feel like it's lacking in the 'real deal clientele' feel that the Smoke Shop seems to specialize in.
If you've been to the Ballard institution, you know what I'm talking about.
Now, on to the good- friendly staff, food (although I wouldn't eat it if you paid me to, but they do have it so there you go) and I've never seen it super busy, and slammed and packed to the gills.
If you're downtown and you're NOT looking to be seen, but more in the mood for some cheap a** drinks, go here. They pretty much specialize in those two things.
People thought this was:
Saturday night. Wasn't feeling the White Horse's stuffy atmosphere. Whisky Bar is packed to the brim. Where do we go? Nitelite!
I am a sucker for dive bars. A bigger sucker for clean dive bars. Nitelite hits the spot. We walked in and grabbed ourselves a table in the back, right next to the awesome dart machine. Proceeded to the bar, where there's a very orderly system to, well, order your drinks.
Maybe we're too used to the high prices in SF, but $32 for a round (of seven) is amazing.
Stiff drinks, friendly service, even friendlier patrons. I'm definitely a fan.
And now the bartender knows what a Red Corona is, too!
People thought this was:
The long island ice tea was pretty much a pint glass full of liquor, with a couple of ice cubes and a shot of coke.
The bartender was a grumpy old lady.
The onion rings were delicious.
We got a taxi very easily outside, which was good since we were in no condition to walk anywhere or ride a public bus.
People thought this was:
Need to get drunk for under $10? This is the place to go!
Dive? Yeah...kinda...
Friendly? Hell yeah!
It was locals only..although to give it some credit, it was Monday night.. :D
We got to speak with a few of the folks in there who all talked to us like they had known us for awhile and the bartender was super duper friendly! The bouncer even remembered us the next day....gosh I miss places like this. You don't get that in LA.. :)
People thought this was:
It's a dive
$4 pitchers of PBR
Close to the bus stop so I can get my happy drunk self home safely
Happy Bernie
That is all : )
People thought this was:
Allow me not to bore you with what has already been said about the bartenders and restrooms and decor and setup of this place, as there are plenty of reviews that will highlight the fantastic old school feel of the joint. I would like to move on to what is really important.
TWO pint size gin and tonics cost me a whopping $5.75, and after having just eaten food elsewhere to sober up I was right back to square one after finishing said drinks and completely trashed again....
....trashed enough to convince my new found hero, Matt, to enter a life of crime with me and help steal one of their beautiful holiday decorations, a lovely plant we named Frank. Forget that the holidays have been over for nearly two months. That just added to the charm. I assume Matt must have had a few drinks as well.
I am sorry Nite Light, but I did find Frank a good home. And the way I see it that's what you get for serving me drinks that are so damn strong and cheap.
People thought this was:
Short Highlights:
No, Wil, my eyes are blue not green...ok maybe it's the lighting, they change color, but they are blue.
Hmm..this is good gin and tonic..tall and cheap...
HE STOLE THE PLANT! Frank is freed from his lonely corner!
HOORAY!
Good layout, and I do like bars where booths/food and active/pool are seperated, let's you set the tone of how you want to enjoy the night. The booths were a good size. and there is plenty of room around...most of the booths were filled with groups when we were there.
This is definitely a place I'll go back to again, perhaps they'll have a nice Nancy in the window by then...living alone w/ Dan might kill Frank
People thought this was:
I'm gonna jump on the bandwagon. But you know, I think I'll just do some bullet points on the place. Try not to touch too much on what's been mentioned.
Dirty Food (in a good way)
Liquid catsup (in a bad way)
Old school country jukebox
Chalkboards in the restrooms
career bartenders old enough to be allowed to be surly if they want
hidden bathrooms
They card me in and I'm in my thirties
People thought this was:
Okay, so scenes from the movies DOGFIGHT and MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO were filmed at the NiteLite. Hence the San Fran diarama (Dogfight w/ River Phoenix and Lily Taylor was set in SF), and the vinyl padding for IDAHO (maybe River picked out these places, he was sort of a freak ya know).
And yes, my children, I am giving this delciously wicked dive bar 5 stars. Let's see I've been living in Seattle for over 10 years which means I've been frequenting this establishment for nearly 10 years. Elise H's husband once played John Denver's Rocky Mountain song like 20 times in a row, however I do believe I was able to squeeze in Neil Diamond's Cracklin' Rose (holla!) and Elvis Presley's Suspicious Minds, much to his chagrin! And of course the numerous times I've flashed my breasts is worth 5 stars, well depending on who you talk to. :o)
Sandy is a wonderful, friendly lady and she would like for us to have a Yelp event there. I shit you all not, she told me and Lydia P that. Right, Lyd? :o)
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Years ago I use to frequent the Nite Lite on a regular basis, my drinking buddies and I would switch things up and either hit the Art Bar (God rest it's soul) or the Nite Lite. I loved it than and I still love it now, why I haven't been there in the past four or five years is beyond me. I will make it a point to go back more frequently I promise. Plus they have a chalk board in the ladies room that you can leave love notes on, make grocery list on, play hangman on or let the world know Ian gives good head, which Ian I have no idea but apparently one of them does.
Oh and bring cash otherwise you have to bat your eyelashes and sweet talk your Yelp BFF to buy you a drink.
People thought this was:
I have to give credit to Tim O. for suggesting this place as a block party intermission, and I have to give a big thank you to Sandy for charging me $2 each for the first four well drinks we purchased.
This is a very "comfortable" dive bar with just the right amount of seediness. It's dark, and the decor is circa 1978 (and their prices accurately reflect that). They didn't have a huge booze selection, but had all the standard liquors and a respectable eight or so beers on tap. I'll definitely be back.
People thought this was:
I stopped in here mid-Yelp Elite/Moore show to have a bite. GREAT veggie tacos! Sucks they do not accept cash but they do have an ATM so all is not lost. I love that you can turn left when walking in and head to the booths or turn right and head to the bar....though each side has a bar it's cool that there are two feels to the joint!
A tad run down, this dive gets extra points for being almost adjacent to The Moore Theater and makes it the perfect stop on the way home from a show.
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$2.75 G&T's and being able to shoot the $hit with Sandy absolutely makes the Nite Lite a guaranteed four star experience!!!(shortest review EVAR!!!)
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I love you even if your Yelp address is wrong.
Screw it, I know where to find you and your $2.75 gin and tonics.
People thought this was:
You have to take this place for what it is. The weirdest, randomest dive bar ever. Okay maybe not ever.
I like the classy fireplace next to the weird vinyl green stuffed surfboard looking things on the walls. Cheap beers. Cash only, but there is an ATM. Great spot to drink at before going to an expensive spot, or just a good hang out spot. An Oasis in Belltown for those who hate Belltown.
People thought this was:
This place is wild. Even though I did not drink here, I was happy with the bowling-alley style vibe. Craziness everywhere. People hanging out without being (too) obnoxious, getting sauced up for super cheap. The room I was in had a crazy color disco-ball thing that went over every 10 mins, temporarily driving me and my party to crazyville. It's like the perfect combination of cheesy diner meets cheap bar --- great place for sobering up if I do say so myself.
When you enter the Nite Lite you could turn to the left and enter a wood paneled bar with sports on TV, pool tables, and dartboards, or turn right into a blue-green kitschy lounge. Either way you'll find cheap strong drinks.
If you're coming up from SF like we were, you may want to take a good long look at the diorama behind glass in the back of the lounge by the pinball machine; It appears to be a mock up of San Francisco after being ravaged by a catastrophic earthquake. I don't think they like our kind here.
People thought this was:
Cash Only - Eh...
$4 PBR pitchers - Enough said.
Chalkboards in the bathroom - Nice touch. I like it. But you forgot the chalk. Please restock so I can make some drawings after my $4 pitcher of PBR. :)
People thought this was:
All I hear about the Nite Lite is related to the cheap, stiff drinks. Well, honestly, folks, I don't care about your well cocktails. I ordered a beer from the hardworking woman behind the counter, and after hearing all the talk about how cheap the place was, was a little surprised to hear her ask for $3.50. $3.50 isn't "crazy cheap" for a pint, folks. I had to take another frickin' dollar out of my wallet, OMG!
Still, nice convincing divey kind of place. I'd go back if friends suggested it.
People thought this was:
What more can be said than a comfortable well worn place to drown your sorrows....
Great HH, PBRs for a dollar, and during the week they have specials like 3 tacos and a beer for $5.
Obviously with those prices they don't exactly bring in the "power-tie" crowd which is a good thing. You will meet some real characters and people just lookin to get out of the weather for a beer and a torta.
I wouldn't classify the food as something you would eat without a liquor primer, not that its bad, more like cafeteria food.
1/2 of the padded vinyl surfaces are in need of repair. So when your butt slips into the hole in the booth just mark it up as part of the charm.
A bar for drinkers. Charles Bukowski & Tom Waits would both be proud.
People thought this was:
I knew it wouldn't be before long and I'd enter my first dive-bar in Seattle. 3 months...not bad, right? Since I'm so high maintenance and was hungry I was sad to hear they didn't serve up some food but my fellow yelpers were non to short of some alternatives.
You should have seen the bartender. It was like a librarian with her PJ hoody behind the counter. She did make a mean Sapphire Tonic for $4.50. Granted I had to flash her with my $20 to get her attention cause she seemed more involved with the regulars than us newbies.
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The final stop in the Block Party...and it rocked! I'm pretty sure it was the company, though. :)
Another place that I wouldn't have ever gone into PY (pre-Yelp), this is a fun little dive bar that has unbelievably cheap ass drinks that don't have the "short pour" that you get in a more expensive place. I'm sure we shocked some of the regulars when we took over their seedy little joint!
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What more do you want from a "dive bar". It really has a fun feel to it and you even get to sit on metal chairs similar to the ones you'd see in a "Prison Break" episode.
The jukebox was great although it probably could use some songs that don't predate my birth. We did enjoy rocking out to the beetles though and therefore I can't really fault the music.
$2 PBR pretty much always guarantees a great night at a dive bar :)
People thought this was:
This is the friendliest and sometimes the scariest bar in town. They have a scale model of the golden gate bridge - drinks that kick your butt but not your pocketbook, and the sweetest bartenders you've ever had the pleasure to do business with.
Simply charming and mostly awesome.
they once let me bring in a whole marching band, with very little hassle.
People thought this was:
I suppose the primary appeal of the Nite Lite is that something like this, on the southern edge of Belltown and the northern edge of downtown, is certainly an anomaly in Seattle these days. This bar is Exhibit A to just how much the city and this neighborhood have changed over the years.
The Nite Lite is not an ironic hipster dive, it's the real thing. The alcoholics hunched over their drinks are not of the lovable TV sitcom variety, and you'd be best advised to keep your cash separate from your purse or wallet and not reveal that cash source at the bar. I had a few $1 bills in my shirt pocket and I swear every drunk on a stool was counting them along with me when I ordered a drink.
Speaking of the drinks, the only way the ladies behind the bar could pour something stiffer is if they used larger glasses. The advisory that only one Long Island per patron shall be served is not an affectation, it's fair warning.
Beyond the bar, the patrons are a diverse mix. On a Friday night happy hour we found the usual hipster contingent, 30-something friends meeting up for a night on the town, some bedraggled hangers-on from the last iteration of this neighborhood, along with a few native PNWers doing their usual passive-aggressive stage muttering about how they hate all the damn newcomers.
Will I be back? Yes. This is a perfect happy hour spot. Unlike many other downtown places, the drink prices aren't a ripoff, the service is as fast as the bartenders can pour and there's no attitude from the staff.
I just need to remember to keep my cash in a secure place.
People thought this was:
Okay,
So I usually don't go to these type of bars, but I just have to say that aside from being dirty, smelly, and gives unpretentious a new definition, the drinks here border on insane. If you were to order a shot, chances are you are going to have to suck it up and dig deep to kill it in one gulp.
I suppose that the atmosphere has something to do with the vibe of the place, but I don't feel anyplace should blatantly be so dirty. It's not that hard to clean a place up. You can't even smoke in doors in Washington state anymore and I felt there was a perpetual haze about the place. I didn't even want to sit down in there for fear that I might get some kind of unidentifiable stain on my jacket.
If you're into the grunge scene or whatever it is the cool kids are calling it these days, go check this place out. Cheap drinks with bartenders that have no concept of what 1 oz. looks like. A great place to pre-funk on the cheap.
People thought this was:
You leave the Moore, your show is over, and you turn left, and you go to Nitelite. It is dive, but not small and tiny, but big, and roomy, a couple different rooms, all diner like, a pool table here, a pool table there. 50 somethings behind the bar mixing up rail vodka and sodas.
"Soda?" - Mean Bartender Lady
"Yeah, soda, you know, like bubble water." - Me
"Yeah, I know. (scoff)" - Mean Bartender Lady
A great juke box though, you have to line up to set your line up, I don't think it's ever crowded but I bet there's always a few. And I did see some food and it looked like the portions are huge and it smelled grand. (Or was that the Vodka and Soda talking?)
You know, I would even stop in sans a Moore Show. And hats off to all the great yelpers that stayed out and hung out!
People thought this was:
Oh God, my heart lives at the Nite Lite.
They love old country and they haven't taken down their Christmas decorations since 1973 (just a guess)
Hit the ATM-- cash only alert!
But all I know is my usual, rum and coke, is a whopping $2.75. No, that's not Happy Hour.
The people who work there are awesome too. They let us use the back room for an engagement party and it was so kick ass! Streamers, balloons, and a FAKE FIREPLACE!!!!
If you're too good to slum it at the Nite Lite, that's your loss
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This is second hand info.... They kicked my friend Jason out and these are his words ...
ve made a recent Wednesday tradition of late lunching downtown at happy hour, reading The Stranger, and soaking up a few cheap pints at a particular neon and kitsch-laced bar in Belltown. Normally, my friend Tabby works there. She's a spark plug of a gal, a former co-worker during my days of karaoke hell. She normally works the happy hour, but not today. Today, we've gone from Tabby to Tubby, a boxcar of a girl with a tattooed boob peeking out from under her blouse. (SIDENOTE: Girls, enough with the tattooed boobs. You're ruining the view, one that's been serving evolution just fine for zillions of years. Y'can't argue with that unless you're into intelligent design, in which case you'd still disagree, because these designs are rather unintelligent.)
I'm finishing up my second pint when Tubby tells me that they're out of Pabst and would Busweiser be okay? Sure, of course!
"And can I ask you a favor?" she continues.
A request this strange means I feel a "Curb Your Enthusiasm" moment coming on. Bartenders do not ask patrons for favors. Bartenders tell people what to do. Given my history of being 86'd from more than one place -- Jack In The Box, the Seattle Public Library, 7-11, and so on -- I instantly start rewinding everything that's happened in the bar up until this point. Just reading and drinking, keeping quiet. Can't think of anything, so maybe she just needs me to, say, move my stool in order to get at something. So I say, "Sure," and I await the favor.
She leans in slightly closer. "If you're going to blow your nose, could you please go to the bathroom to do it?"
Wait, what? Somewhere in the mental rewind it's there, moments ago, a quick flash when I reached into my pocket, nonchalantly produced a napkin, and quietly blew my nose. None of the day laborers in the bar so much as notice this, much less shift their eyes from either their pints, the basketball game, or the tattooed tit of the Tubster. Not knowing what to say to such a strange request.
"It's really gross," she continues.
"Really?" I ask.
"Yes, so could you please go into the bathroom to blow your nose?"
I don't know what to say. See, if I say "yes," I feel like a submissive fool. I'm in a dive drinking $1 pints surrounded by individuals dirty from a day of working for chump change, albiet much more money than I made today. I loafed around all day and am less than three hours removed from the shower. If I have to see that stupid tattoo peeking up over the neckline of her shirt (again, I hate those tattoos), not to mention the straining spandex valiantly yet barely containing the much larger lower part of her body, asking me -- a paying, tipping customer -- to leave my seat and walk across the bar and into the bathroom for a quick, silent honking of my schnozz is uncalled for. Not to mention, working in a dive myself I'm always suspiscious of people who go to the bathroom too often. And all about my nose? What would the children think?
On the downside, if I say "No," I risk getting cut off. In a town full of other bars, including one half a block away with an equally fine hapy hour special. But instead of choosing this route, I go with plan C: saying nothing and staring quizzically.
So Tubby hands me back my money and tells me to leave. I figure this is okay, as I can stare at the cloudy sky outside and white balance her image out of my lenses. I stand and prepare to leave but not before I pull a D-bag move by blowing my nose.
She sees this, too. "Oh, you just HAVE to be an ASSHOLE about it, don't you?"
Asshole, douchebag... I think they're on the same team. Play ball.
8:09 AM - 4 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment
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